In the report, The Schooling of State Pesticide Laws – 2010 Update,
Beyond Pesticides finds that 21 states recommend or require schools to
use IPM, a 24 percent increase since the original report was written
in 1998. While this growth is occurring and other measures are being
taken to provide written notice prior to pesticide use (24 states, a 30
percent increase), the majority of school children continue to be
exposed to toxic pesticides while at school. Beyond Pesticides finds
that only 35 states have taken limited action to step in and provide
protective measures to address pesticide use in, around or near their
schools.

However, these laws represent a patchwork of laws that
are uneven and inadequate. SEPA would provide a minimum national
standard. Shouldn't all children and staff have a basic level of
protection from hazardous pesticide exposure?

SEPA requires that all public schools adopt integrated pest management (IPM) programs indoors that emphasize non-chemical pest management
strategies and only use defined least-toxic pesticides as a last resort.

Requires organic management of school grounds
and playing fields, and prohibits synthetic fertilizers due to their
adverse impact on healthy soils, plants, and turf, and associated
environmental impacts.

Least-toxic pesticides do not include:
pesticides that are carcinogens, reproductive and developmental
toxicants, nervous and immune system poisons, endocrine
disruptors, or have data gaps or missing information on health
effects, as well as outdoor pesticides that adversely affect
wildlife, have high soil mobility, or are groundwater
contaminants.

The bill establishes a 12-member National
School IPM Advisory Board that, with the help of a technical
advisory panel, will develop school IPM standards and a list of
allowable least-toxic pesticide products.

It requires each state to develop its IPM plan as part of its existing state cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA.

A public health emergency provision allows the
use of a pesticide, if warranted. In this case, notification of
the pesticide application is required to be provided to all
parents and guardians of students and school staff.

Cleaning agents with pesticides fall under the bill’s purview.

Why Federal Legislation
Is Needed

A 2005
study published in the Journal of American Medical Association finds
that students and school employees are being poisoned by pesticide use
at schools and from drift off of neighboring farmlands; the study authors
noted the lack of protection for school children and employees under
federal law, pointing out that state laws provide some protection but
are varied, thus leaving large gaps;

A 1999 U.S. GAO
report found that EPA is not doing enough to protect children from pesticides;

The Poison Control
Center has documented 2,300 school pesticide exposures from 1993-96;

Although the U.S.
EPA and several states recommend safer school pest management practices
and pesticide use notification, and there is a fair amount of good will
among school administrators, custodians, pest management professions,
only 26% of schools are following those recommendations and therefore,
recommendations prove to be largely ineffective (according to Are
Schools Making the Grade;

Children are among
the least protected population group when it comes to pesticide exposure;
and,

There are numerous
deficiencies in the existing regulatory review of pesticides, such as:

Reregistration
is an ongoing process with outstanding and missing data;

FIFRA and
FQPA risk standards by definition allow levels of risk or harm to
be set;

Inerts are
not fully evaluated;

Active ingredients
are rarely tested in combination with other ingredients;

Pesticide
ingredients can breakdown to more toxic chemicals; and,

We have little
knowledge or control of many exposure scenarios, making determination
of risk and hazards more complex.

There are numerous
benefits to such legislation. SEPA would:

Halt students and
staff from unknowingly being exposed to the unnecessary use of hazardous
pesticides;

Force school administrators
to know about their schools' pest management practices;

Require schools
to move to safer, more effective pest management;

Allow parents,
school nurses, and staff to find out what is being applied and take
any necessary precautions;

Help the dissemination
of existing manuals, guides, etc. on implementing safer practices;

Decrease the cost
schools would spend on pest management;

Allow states and
localities the authority to adopt standards regarding implementation
of the law as they see fit;

Lead to a healthier
school environments; and,

Ensure longevity
of safer school pest management programs.

Children's Special
Vulnerability to Pesticides

The vulnerability of infants and children to the harmful effects of pesticides
has attracted national attention over the years. EPA and the National
Academy of Sciences, among others, have voiced concerns about the danger
that pesticides pose to children, even at low levels. Children face higher
risks than adults from pesticide exposure due to their small size, tendency
to place their hands close to their face, engaging in activities on or
near the ground, greater intake of air and food relative to body weight,
developing organ systems, and other unique characteristics.

School is a place
where children need a healthy body and a clear head in order to learn. Numerous
scientific studies find that pesticides typically used in schools
are linked to chronic health effects such as cancer, asthma, neurological
and immune system diseases, reproductive problems, and developmental and
learning disabilities. IPM in schools has proven to be an effective and
economical method of pest management that can prevent pest problems and
eliminate the use of hazardous pesticides in school buildings and on school
grounds.

Adverse health effects,
such as nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, headaches, rashes, and
mental disorientation, may appear even when a pesticide is applied according
to label directions. Pesticide exposure can adversely affect a child's
neurological, respiratory, immune, and endocrine system and have been
shown to cause or exacerbate asthma symptoms. Studies show that children
living in households where pesticides are used suffer elevated rates of
leukemia, brain cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma. Because most of the symptoms
of pesticide exposure, from respiratory distress to difficulty in concentration,
are common in school children and may also have other causes, pesticide-related
illnesses often go unrecognized and unreported.

Previous Efforts
to Pass SEPA

SEPA was first introduced in November 1999 in both the U.S. Senate and
House; and has been reintroduced every Congressional session since. The
bill language is based on state school pest management laws. It also mirrored
the structure of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which
established a national committee to oversee the program as well as established
a list of pesticides allowed for use within the program. A form of SEPA
has passed the U.S. Senate twice since and, together with other legislation,
indicates broad support for a national mandate to stop hazardous pesticide
use in schools.